JUAREZ -- Juárez police Chief Julian Leyzaola -- a career law-enforcement officer specially chosen to reduce the once-uncontrolled violence that tarnished the image of this city -- is prepared to leave the country once his dangerous assignment ends in October.

"There is no safe place in Mexico for me," said Leyzaola, who has worked in law enforcement in the military for 37 years. "Mexico is prohibited for me."

During a lengthy interview with the El Paso Times, Leyzaola, who came to Juárez from Tijuana, talked about his job in a place once considered one of the world's most dangerous cities.

After 20 months on the job, he feels satisfied because the number of homicides is declining. From March 2011, when he arrived, to November of this year, the number of homicides has declined every month. And 2012 is projected to finish with fewer than 800 homicides compared with 1,956 homicides in 2011.

The 54-year-old Leyzaola, a lieutenant colonel in the Mexican army, is credited with a remarkable reduction in crimes such as extortion, carjacking and kidnappings. The reduction was accomplished with a strategic plan that included the cleansing of the police department -- 800 officers have been dismissed in his term -- and regaining the neighborhoods that once were under control of criminal groups such as the Juárez and the Sinaloa drug cartels.

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Though the city is making a slow turnaround, Leyzaola is not without critics.

In the past 20 months, he has been the target of two assassination attempts and accused of human-rights abuses. He said his job is to fight crime and in doing so, he has become "the bad guy of the movie."

Leyzaola's job will end Oct. 10 -- something he is looking forward to.

"You don't know how big the responsibility of sitting here is," he said. "I don't know how many people would like to be here, but when the time to give my resignation comes, it will be a very happy day for me."

Q It has been almost two years since you came here and the numbers show a clear reduction of crime in the city. How did the city achieve this?

A It is clear for me that when you implement a program and strategy and you verify them meticulously, the results will be the ones that your were looking for. The security program that we used here was the same that I applied in Tijuana with very favorable results. I received Tijuana with more than 6,400 crimes per month and after a strategy of cleaning, training, equipment and awareness within the police force, we reduced the crime more than in half.

Juarez Police Chief Julian Leyzaola (Jesus Alcazar / El Paso Times)

In Juárez, we started with a rigorous process to clean the police force. Since I came here, 800 police officers have been separated from the corporation for different reasons. Most of them have resigned, others were fired and many were indicted for corruption or other charges.

Q How did the strategy work in downtown?

A Downtown exemplifies what happened in the rest of the police districts. When we got here, we realized that two organizations were fighting for control, La Línea (Juárez drug cartel) and El Chapo's organization. La Línea was the most aggressive and violent group and they were financing their activities not just with the money obtained by selling drugs, but also with extortion, kidnappings and carjacking. They were able to get between $480,000 and $640,000 weekly. At that time, police officers were banned from entering downtown if they were not working for or had an agreement with the organization.

By the end of March, we started patrolling downtown streets with elite groups and we started confronting criminals. In a second phase, we introduced officers on foot patrol and then we infiltrated their organization. In addition, all the officers that were previously assigned to downtown were moved to other areas. There were around 70 officers for the area and just nine vehicles. We brought in 282 officers and 80 vehicles and provided them with high caliber weapons, cartridges, bulletproof vests and radios with encrypted frequency.

When I transferred the officers that were working for the criminal organizations in downtown, it left the criminals blind, and when we got the encrypted frequency, it left them deaf. That created a lot of uncertainty within the organization.

Q Do you feel that your strategy completely eliminated the operations of La Línea in downtown?

A I think that right now, La Línea, as a criminal organization, doesn't have a strong presence in Juárez, or if they have it, it is very weak.

Q What about El Chapo's cartel?

A El Chapo operates more in the south and southeast of the city. When we went to those areas, we had good results, too. We secured several of their houses, high-caliber weapons and drugs, especially marijuana.

Q But El Chapo still operates and has a strong presence in the city?

A El Chapo operates on a bigger scale. He doesn't go into retail and that makes it more difficult to detect him. He is more concerned about big loads of drugs going into the U.S., and his presence in the city is less visible because he is not in extortion or carjacking. To be more effective in combating him, we would need more intelligence capacity and other kinds of actions.

Q It is said that what really provoked the reduction of crime is that El Chapo won the war against La Línea. Is that true?

A I think that is an adventurous expression. First, because whoever says that should be involved in the criminal structures and must have details on what is going on inside. I can tell you that we have fought all the criminal groups with the same intensity. I don't care to which group they belong. We are combating delinquency in an integral way.

Q Human rights organizations argue that since you came here, the number of arrests skyrocketed. They talk about 60,000 arrests in the first six months of 2012. However, just 600 were indicted because there was not enough information to prosecute them. Your thoughts?

A We should not confuse administrative arrests with arrests for felonies. I'm aware that there was a moment when the administrative arrests skyrocketed, and it has to do with officers that were abusing their power. I have to recognize that I have a police force that needs to be watched all the time.

We had fired 800 officers that were not meeting the professional standards. And when I said that I'm talking not just about officers who were working with organized crime. I'm also talking about corrupt officers that were stealing people's money and belongings or were just arresting people for misdemeanors. Let me tell you that in August this year, we had 16,000 people arrested for misdemeanors, an average of 500 per day.

Q That is very recent. Is it still happening?

A Yes, and we had many complaints from citizens and human rights organizations. We had an average of five to seven complaints for arbitrary detentions. What did I do? I reviewed all the proceedings and I realized that the officers were abusing their power, and we started addressing the problem.

Q When you came here, you had 2,600 officers. Then you fired 800 and you have been training new officers at the police academy, right?

A We have graduated only 87 cadets.

Q So, most of your officers are still part of the police force that you inherited?

A Yes, I have 1,800 officers now. And just 87 are new. But we have to understand that not all the officers were bad or corrupt. As of today, the officers are more conscious about their role in society. They know that there is no going back to the past, when they could abuse their power without facing consequences. I think our police officers are aware that things have changed.

Q Accusations of human rights abuses have followed you since your time in Tijuana. It draws attention every time that a person is arrested and he or she is presented to the media with visible signs of having been badly beaten. Human rights organizations said they have filled around 40 complaints for torture, excessive use of force and mistreatment by police officers.

A I agree with that. There was a time in which the detained people were presented badly beaten. I accept that and I don't try to justify them, but I have had to deal with two of the most corrupt police corporations in Mexico. Do you think that before I arrived in Tijuana nothing happened? Do you think the situation there was not worse before I arrived? What happened is that when I went there, I started applying internal proceedings to clean up the corporation, I indicted 23 superior commanders. É When I start breaking the links between police and criminal organizations, when I arrested hit men, delinquents, when I started doing my job, they started complaining. Why? Before, they (police and community) could not complain because they feared reprisals. Now, they can and I became the bad guy of the movie.

Q How do you feel about those accusations?

A They can't destroy the honor of a person without having evidence. Imagine my sons, my family. É They accused me because I'm the face of an institution, but they have never gotten my side. In Tijuana, where the complaints were more serious, they never gave me the right to refute. I already presented a complaint on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights because of the way I have been attacked, but they have never called me either.

Q Do you consider yourself a heavy-handed police officer?

A If heavy-handed is to clean a police department, to eliminate corruption, yes. I have a heavy hand because any police corporation can't do its job while it has delinquents inside. And I'm going to tell you that there is not a single police force, not in El Paso, New York, Chicago or Paris, that can say it is totally clean. There is always something there and we, as the head of the corporation, have the obligation to be watching out because a badge and a pistol gives those officers a lot of power.

Q How do you feel about your personal security?

A I always keep the same level of security because even if the crime rates have declined, I'm still a target for criminals. You won't ever see me in a relaxed situation. I'm always alert.

Q You will end your job when the current administration finishes its term on Oct. 10. Is that enough time to conclude what you started?

A I brought a security plan and I presented it to the municipal presidency. Who operates the plan is not something that I should decide. I came here to work and I think I have done it well. If they (authorities) tell me that I should leave, I will be the first to congratulate myself because it is very difficult to work in a place like this, not just for the confrontations with delinquents.

Q What else makes it difficult?

A The confrontation with society because everybody wants changes, but nobody wants to change. That is the reality.

Q What frustrates you the most?

A It's difficult. Crime, at least in the two cities where I have been, is so rooted in society that criminals are a well-accepted part of it. Here in Juárez, I could tell you that 80 percent of families have somebody that is involved in crime.

Q Eighty percent?

A It is really rooted in society. Delinquents are so prosperous that they have their own language, religion, music. They have become urban heroes, with money, pretty women, vehicles, properties. They are role models and people admire them. So when I try to combat them legally, I become the Antichrist because I'm fighting those delinquents. It is like when you are fighting a cancerous tumor that needs to be removed; it is going to be painful and your body will fight it.

Q Do you feel misunderstood by society?

A No, never. I just know that I do my job with responsibility and ethics. But many other people don't do that.

Lourdes Cárdenas may be reached at lcardenas@elpasotimes.com; 456-6249.

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